Athens in Mad Town

The Wall Street Journal's view of Big Labor's effort to shut down Wisconsin to prevent reform: For Americans who don't think the welfare state riots of France or Greece can happen here, we recommend a look at the union and Democratic Party spectacle now unfolding in Wisconsin. Over the past few days, thousands have swarmed the state capital and airwaves to intimidate lawmakers and disrupt Governor Scott Walker's plan to level the playing field between taxpayers and government unions. Mr. Walker's very modest proposal would take away the ability of most government employees to collectively bargain for benefits. They could still bargain for higher wages, but future wage increases would be capped at the federal Consumer Price Index, unless otherwise specified by a voter referendum. The bill would also require union members to contribute 5.8% of salary toward their pensions and chip in 12.6% of the cost of their health insurance premiums. If those numbers don't sound outrageous, you probably work in the private economy. The comparable nationwide employee health-care contribution is 20% for private industry, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average employee contribution from take-home pay for retirement was 7.5% in 2009, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute. Mr. Walker says he has no choice but to make these changes because unions refuse to negotiate any compensation changes, which is similar to the experience Chris Christie had upon taking office in New Jersey. Wisconsin is running a $137 million deficit this year and anticipates coming up another $3.6 billion short in the next two-year budget. Governor Walker's office estimates the proposals would save the state $300 million over the next two years, and the alternative would be to lay off 5,500 public employees. None of this is deterring the crowds in Madison, aka Mad Town, where protesters, including many from the 98,000-member teachers union, have gone Greek. Madison's school district had to close Thursday when 40% of its teachers called in sick. So much for the claim that this is "all about the children." By the way, these are some of the same teachers who sued the Milwaukee school board last August to get Viagra coverage restored to their health-care plan.
Big Labor Taking 'Silver' Out of 'Silver State'

Big Labor Taking 'Silver' Out of 'Silver State'

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Mark Mix: Big Government is Big Labor's bread and butter in Nevada and many other states. This winter, as state legislatures across the country prepare to go into session, many elected officials are looking for a practical way to get skyrocketing tax expenditures for compensation of state and local government employees under control. For many years now, Big Labor featherbedding and counterproductive work rules have been key factors in causing government payrolls to spiral at an alarming rate. In fact, according to inflation-adjusted U.S. Commerce Department data, taxpayers' aggregate real costs for compensation of state and local government employees soared by almost 30% between 1998 and 2008 -- an increase more than 50% greater than the total real growth of private-employee compensation. In 2009, even as the nation's economy endured a severe recession, state and local employee real compensation rose by 2.6%. Meanwhile, businesses whose revenues were plummeting had no choice but to cut back real compensation for private-sector employees by 4.3%. Right to Work States Haven't Been Immune From Government Union Virus And last fall, American voters expressed their alarm at this trend by ousting hundreds of government union boss-friendly legislators in state after state and replacing them with candidates pledging to revoke union monopoly-bargaining policies that favor government employment growth over business job growth.